The present invention relates to a handheld device that is capable of containing in itself a fuel suitable for use by an electrochemical device such as a fuel cell stack.
Said fuel cell stack carries out the conversion, in a continuous manner, of the chemical energy stored by the fuel into electrical energy suitable for the correct operation of the electric circuits and other components included in the mobile apparatus.
The use of the fuel cell stack in handheld devices is mainly due to the fuel cell stack being capable of supplying more electrical energy than a traditional nickel-cadmium battery of comparable size and with less weight. The fuel cell stack does not require lengthy recharging, it is recharged quickly merely by adding fuel, since the fuel cell stack does not store energy like present day batteries, but produces it as long as it has fuel to do so.
Therefore, a handheld device that incorporates a fuel cell stack has great autonomy and mobility, since it is independent of whatever type of voltage source for its recharging.
It is known in the state of the art the existence of a fuel cell stack suitable for handheld devices such as a mobile telephone, computer or the like, which is fed with fuel from a replaceable container or receptacle, a cartridge, in which is held and transported a determined amount of said fuel such as methanol, or similar. The fuel cell stack is capable of obtaining electrical energy from the hydrogen atoms.
The handheld device has a specially enabled space for receiving the cartridge. Thus, when the fuel of the cartridge is exhausted, the latter must be withdrawn from the receptacle and substituted with another cartridge full of fuel, that is, the empty cartridge is substituted with a replacement, in a manner similar to what is done with, for example, a ball-point pen.
For which reason there is a need to develop a handheld device that is capable of containing therein a determined quantity of fuel, in such a manner that the size of the handheld device is reduced. In such a way that the handheld devices shall be compact in size and reduced in weight, in accordance with that required by the possible users thereof, maintaining an extended autonomy.
It is an object of the invention to facilitate a handheld device capable of storing therein a fuel adequate for a fuel cell stack, also held in the mobile apparatus, extracting therefrom electrical energy in a continuous and adequate manner for the normal operation of the mobile apparatus, without the size thereof being penalised.
The handheld device consists of a set of electronic circuits that are enclosed or contained in a housing or casing. Said housing has a free space, commonly small, which is situated between the electronic circuits and/or between these and the housing in which they are held.
This free space defines a compartment that is suitable for being occupied by a kind of balloon or blister with a first interface (zone of communication) through which is carried out the filling of the balloon with the fuel from the exterior of the housing of the handheld device.
Likewise, the balloon also has a second interface, zone of action of the fuel on the fuel cell stack, in order that the latter produce the electrical energy.